Govt will not build any more executive maisonettes

File photo, a block of flats in Bishan Street 13. A 20th-storey executive maisonette in the block was sold for S$900,000 in March 2012. The Government will not be building any more executive maisonettes (EMs), the Ministry of National Development said on Tuesday. -- NP PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

By Rachel Chang

The Government will not be building any more executive maisonettes (EMs), the Ministry of National Development said on Tuesday. This is because it believes that its executive condominium scheme, launched in 1995, is "better-placed to meet the diverse needs of Singaporeans."

EMs in certain neighbourhoods have become highly sought after on the resale market.

Of the eight flats which went for over $900,000 this year, four of them are EMs, including a Bishan Street 12 unit that sold for $970,000. This included a record-breaking $250,000 in cash-over-valuation (COV).

In the written reply to a parliamentary question from Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Gan Thiam Poh, who asked if the ministry would reconsider building more such units, MND said that executive condominiums come in a broader range of sizes, including duplexes that are similar to EMs. Executive condo units range from 69 to 324 sq m.